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Martial Brotherhood
"Honor and Duty." The veritable love-child of the entire Order of Warriors, the Martial Brotherhood is the global Chapter for professional soldiers. Be they officers serving in the armed forces of nation-states, grunts in a militia, or mercenaries operating under contract, all are welcomed into the hallowed halls of the Martial Brotherhood. Facts: -Obviously, the War Order is especially associated with the Chapter. However, their membership is open to Adepts of all Orders so long as they have served as military professionals. -The Martial Brotherhood exists to serve as a place for professional soldiers to meet one another, ostensibly even those who have fought before on opposing sides. The Chapter calls itself a brotherhood and seeks to be just that, fostering ideals and principals of fraternity which are meant to transcend even the horrors of warfare. -The Martial Brotherhood is not a very exclusive Chapter and so its members often hold membership in other Chapters as well. -It should go without saying that the bulk of members within the Martial Brotherhood hail from the Military Orders. Chain of Command?: There is no central command or force of authority within the Chapter. The Chapter is divided into Warrior Lodges where the members meet. Each Lodge is usually headed by a Lodge Commander and his Lodge Wardens (usually those members who also hold the Veteran Title). Other Titles may exist within that Lodge to serve a purpose but there is no guarantee that other Warrior Lodges will recognize those Titles. Each Warrior Lodge writes up its own rules of conduct and they communicate with each other. The oldest functioning Warrior Lodges carry a sense of seniority, so they are looked to as the closest thing the Chapter has to authority figures. No two Warrior Lodges are said to be truly alike, for each Warrior Lodge is shaped by the company it keeps and by the military forces it operates within. Some Warrior Lodges operate within specific groups, such as the United States Marine Corps. the Special Operations Forces of Russia, or the Israeli Defense Force. Other Warrior Lodges are more independent and accept members from different military forces, and thus from different military traditions. Induction into Warrior Lodges also varies, although more often than not it takes the form of a series of trials or tests in order to prove the worth of the inductee. Warrior Lodges will generally designate a specific place to hold their meetings. This will be the physical local that is the actual 'lodge' and will probably be decked to the gills with military paraphernalia. Most such Lodges will also be located close to, if not within, military forts and bastions, historic battlefields, or other areas of military strength. War & Peace: The Martial Brotherhood exists for purposes of fraternity and idealism, but the outside world is a harsh reality and it often intrudes upon the Chapter by forcing its members to fight one another. When members of the Martial Brotherhood are at war, they understand that necessity demands they do what they must as soldiers. However, the Brotherhood seeks to enforce general rules to warfare and so codes of honor and calls for ceasefire or parley are to be honored. Adepts who routinely disregard common sense codes of conduct on the battlefield will probably not be tolerated for long within the Martial Brotherhood. Issue of Rank: Another way the outside world interferes within the activities of the Martial Brotherhood is in the form of rank and the military chain of command. What happens when an Adept serving in a military force attends a meeting with those who are his officers? Should rank be suspended or not within a Warrior Lodge? Each Warrior Lodge has chosen its own answer to this eternal question. Some Lodges do enforce a strict null on all rank and authority while its members are physically present within the Warrior Lodge itself. Others have decided to split apart, with grunts forming their own Lodge while their officers attend their own separate meetings. Cult of the Warrior: All Warrior Lodges adhere to what is commonly called the 'Cult of the Warrior,' which is the active exploration, research of, and conservation of various military traditions around the world. This most often takes the form of caches of exotic weapons, gear or equipment from across the world. Relics are also a solid favorite for Warrior Lodges seeking to create their own little 'museum' dedicated to the Cult of the Warrior. Another important way the Warrior Lodges honor the Cult of the Warrior is by remembering those warriors of times past. This could take the form of memorae of fallen brothers or it could be fundraising for memorials in wider society, places were the soldiers of past generations are remembered for their sacrifices. Warrior Lodges also fulfill the Cult of the Warrior by simply interacting with one another and giving their members a chance to mingle with fellow soldiers from different military traditions. Contests of skill and networking during these events is actively encouraged by the Lodge Commanders. Giving Voice To The Military: A recurring theme for the Military Orders down through time is to get used and abused by the society they seek to defend, often being used as both cannon fodder and as political tools by the Ruling Orders. One of the primary objectives of the Martial Brotherhood is to counter this by seeking to give voice to issues which are of concern to military personnel everywhere. This could be in the form of calling for greater funding for beleaguered or underfunded troops, greater healthcare for those suffering from PTSD, or simply getting politicians to stop planting their countries forces in pointless foreign conflicts. It should be noted that more than a few Warrior Lodges actively discourage members of the Ruling Orders from holding Titles of importance within their Lodge. This could be in the form of an outright ban or an unspoken but well-known agreement among its members. References: -https://warriorlodge.com/ -https://www.worldmilitarynews.com/ -https://www.military.com/daily-news -http://www.themasonictrowel.com/masonic_talk/masonic_matter/files/masonic_matter_2003_02-11.htm Category:Chapter Category:War Category:Martial Brotherhood